Hey Ya'll,
This week was awesome! Heath Hartley is now a member of the Church! It was an amazing weekend. Just as good as when Alan got baptized. I was privileged to be the one to baptize Heath. We got dressed into our white clothes and he was getting nervous, but Alan came in and gave him a big hug. We did the usual routine with hymns and talks, then we went into the font. The water was luke warm, but Heath was shaking while he was standing next to me. At first it looked like he was unsure, but he nodded when I asked him if he was ready. Said the prayer and led him under the water. When he came up it seemed like he was unsure what happened. When we were in the dressing room changing he was shaking. He kept telling me it wasn't because he was cold, but that he couldn't describe his feelings. It was awesome, he was so happy and the conformation on Sunday made it even better. Heath didn't have a voice the next day, I'm not sure why, but he was the happiest I've ever seen him. Hopefully I will get to see him today or tomorrow.
So transfer information is out. I'm headed to Ozark, Alabama. I'm going to serve with Elder Brian in the Ozark South area. I'm also the district leader for Enterprise. Elder Perkins says that I'll be living with 3 other Elders. Ozark North lives with us and they are the Zone Leaders. Calling in will be easy. ;)
Second cool thing, Elder Michael T. Ringwood of the seventy is coming to our mission. We are going to meet him on Thursday, the day after transfers. We have a lot to prepare for, but I'm really excited to be there. I feel like I'm completely out of my shell and a full-pledged missionary.
I am a little sad to leave campus. Hillary is soooooo close, but just not there yet. However, she is really my only ray of sunshine. Lauren, a recent convert, just got engaged. It’s kind of hard to listen to the whole story when I'm a missionary and can't be there myself. I know my time will come, but still. ugh.
Anyways, Rich is taking us to this really good bbq place today. I'm so excited to go with him. As for the sweatshirts and long sleeves, just send me my Hawaii shirt. You will have to wait until I can get the address next week, but I will get myself a sweatshirt in the mean time. Thank grandma for me. I will put it to good use. ;)
I love you all and can't wait to tell you about my new area next week.
Elder Call
Elder Call
Off to the MTC
Monday, October 26, 2009
Monday, October 19, 2009
It's Cold!!!!!!
Hey Everybody,
What in the World Happened!?! Overnight it got really cold in Florida. I didn't know that could happen. Of course its not as cold as Utah, but me without a long sleeve shirt or a sweatshirt its really cold. We played Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday and I could see my breath for most of the morning. Then later that night the sun went down and it got even colder. Our apartment was freezing and I had to turn on the heater it was so cold. So this letter is sort of a plea. Can you send me a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt? I would buy a FSU sweatshirt, but they cost $30. I guess if it’s cheaper that way I can do it. Just let me know ASAP. :)
This week overall was better. It still had its ups and downs, but I was able to see a lot of improvement. This week my main focus was on retaining. There are two recent converts who are really struggling. Dallas and Rachel. Dallas was baptized last December, but right now he is working 3 jobs, trying to build a relationship with his daughter and the daughter’s mother, and trying to pay off all of his debt. It’s been really hard on him and he hasn't been to church for a while. We met with him this week and told him to make goals. Goals that would help him find financial, spiritual and social stability. Elder Perkins and I are making goals too. Mine is to Finish the Doctrine and Covenants by Thanksgiving and write in my journal every night until Thanksgiving (I'm not very diligent in writing every night). We are going to meet him tomorrow or on Wednesday to help him make his goals.
Rachel has probably been the craziest. She moved out of her parents house to an apartment that is really close to the church and to TCC. We were able to go over here on Monday and visit with her. We picked her up on Friday with her home teacher and took her to Friday Forum. She was looking great and really happy to be there, but on Saturday everything went south. She got robbed. We think it was one of her roommates. They got into her safe and got her card. They withdrew about $200. She moved out that night and is back with her parents. This is good and bad. Good because she is no longer in that environment with those roommates, bad because she is now living with her parents. It’s not that her parents are bad or don't support her, but it’s the fact that they live waaaaaayy out in the middle of know-where. Technically they live outside of Tallahassee City Limits on the other side of town. If you don't know how big Tallahassee is, it’s about the size of half of Salt Lake County. It’s HUGE!! It took us 45 min to get to her house the first time, by car. By bike, we should have started yesterday.
She didn't come to church this week and hasn't been for a while. We tried to
contact her, but she wouldn't answer. We were going to go visit her at her
parent’s house, but she wouldn't answer our calls so we weren't sure if she would be there. Elder Merkley, who was the one who baptized her, called us last night. Apparently she called him and left a very upsetting message. She was crying and trying to contact him. The sisters told us that Rachel told them that she would travel to Dothan to get a blessing from Elder Merkley. I know this story doesn't really make sense, but I'm trying to fit all the pieces in myself. I hope she's ok.
Hilary is doing great! She is going to get baptized! We haven't set a date, but she has expressed the desire to be baptized. She says she would like to talk to her dad and get his support first. We are hoping that she will talk with him this weekend so we can set a real baptismal date.
Heath is getting baptized this weekend! What a great way to end a transfer. With a baptism. :) He is very ready to get baptized and has been asking a lot of questions about dating, marriage and the Temple. He is definitely looking beyond just baptism. He is preparing to endure to the end. :) Oh, by the way, I get to perform the baptism. My first one. Hopefully I don't screw it up. Its only necessary for salvation. haha
Well I love you all. Thanks mom for the Newsletter. I love hearing from the boys!
Love ya'll
Elder Call
What in the World Happened!?! Overnight it got really cold in Florida. I didn't know that could happen. Of course its not as cold as Utah, but me without a long sleeve shirt or a sweatshirt its really cold. We played Ultimate Frisbee on Saturday and I could see my breath for most of the morning. Then later that night the sun went down and it got even colder. Our apartment was freezing and I had to turn on the heater it was so cold. So this letter is sort of a plea. Can you send me a long sleeve shirt and a sweatshirt? I would buy a FSU sweatshirt, but they cost $30. I guess if it’s cheaper that way I can do it. Just let me know ASAP. :)
This week overall was better. It still had its ups and downs, but I was able to see a lot of improvement. This week my main focus was on retaining. There are two recent converts who are really struggling. Dallas and Rachel. Dallas was baptized last December, but right now he is working 3 jobs, trying to build a relationship with his daughter and the daughter’s mother, and trying to pay off all of his debt. It’s been really hard on him and he hasn't been to church for a while. We met with him this week and told him to make goals. Goals that would help him find financial, spiritual and social stability. Elder Perkins and I are making goals too. Mine is to Finish the Doctrine and Covenants by Thanksgiving and write in my journal every night until Thanksgiving (I'm not very diligent in writing every night). We are going to meet him tomorrow or on Wednesday to help him make his goals.
Rachel has probably been the craziest. She moved out of her parents house to an apartment that is really close to the church and to TCC. We were able to go over here on Monday and visit with her. We picked her up on Friday with her home teacher and took her to Friday Forum. She was looking great and really happy to be there, but on Saturday everything went south. She got robbed. We think it was one of her roommates. They got into her safe and got her card. They withdrew about $200. She moved out that night and is back with her parents. This is good and bad. Good because she is no longer in that environment with those roommates, bad because she is now living with her parents. It’s not that her parents are bad or don't support her, but it’s the fact that they live waaaaaayy out in the middle of know-where. Technically they live outside of Tallahassee City Limits on the other side of town. If you don't know how big Tallahassee is, it’s about the size of half of Salt Lake County. It’s HUGE!! It took us 45 min to get to her house the first time, by car. By bike, we should have started yesterday.
She didn't come to church this week and hasn't been for a while. We tried to
contact her, but she wouldn't answer. We were going to go visit her at her
parent’s house, but she wouldn't answer our calls so we weren't sure if she would be there. Elder Merkley, who was the one who baptized her, called us last night. Apparently she called him and left a very upsetting message. She was crying and trying to contact him. The sisters told us that Rachel told them that she would travel to Dothan to get a blessing from Elder Merkley. I know this story doesn't really make sense, but I'm trying to fit all the pieces in myself. I hope she's ok.
Hilary is doing great! She is going to get baptized! We haven't set a date, but she has expressed the desire to be baptized. She says she would like to talk to her dad and get his support first. We are hoping that she will talk with him this weekend so we can set a real baptismal date.
Heath is getting baptized this weekend! What a great way to end a transfer. With a baptism. :) He is very ready to get baptized and has been asking a lot of questions about dating, marriage and the Temple. He is definitely looking beyond just baptism. He is preparing to endure to the end. :) Oh, by the way, I get to perform the baptism. My first one. Hopefully I don't screw it up. Its only necessary for salvation. haha
Well I love you all. Thanks mom for the Newsletter. I love hearing from the boys!
Love ya'll
Elder Call
Monday, October 12, 2009
Congrats to Megan!!
Hey Ya'll,
Sounds like your week was amazing. Besides the little bump at the end. It’s so cool to hear Megan go so far in Tennis. Now she has all year to be better!! Maryanne McFarland isn't someone I know, but I know her older sister. Lauren McFarland plays tennis for FSU. She used to be in the singles ward until she got married. Now it’s Lauren McCreeless. Her and her husband, Ashby, gave Elder Perkins and me a ride home the other day. We got talking on the subject of tennis and she told me her little sister is playing for Weber. I told her my little sister is playing for Lone Peak. She got so excited and texted me the results on Sunday. ;) I knew about Megan making it all the way to the Finals.
So this week was rough. We didn't accomplish our goals at all. We tried to meet with Hilary and Heath twice this week, but we could only meet with them once each. We have been trying to increase our teaching pool, but it hasn't been very successful. We finally got a media referral, where we take them a DVD that they ordered. We have tried to meet this lady 3 times but every time she is not there. It’s really out of the way and with bikes it makes it hard. TCC is good, but it feels like we're just roaming around rather than being there to teach. That may be because we didn't teach a lot this week.
Instead we did some service at a members home. We went back out to the ranch to help Lexa's dad move Rollerbales from the field into his barn. It was an easy start, because the bales were fresh and easy to roll. We moved the first one in no sweat. We went back out to the field to begin moving the second one. After about the third push is when everything started going downhill. Apparently we ran over a mound of fire ants without realizing it. We continued pushing and my hand went right to where they all were. They slowly crawled on my hand without me noticing. Then, all at once they attacked!! Oh! It hurt so bad. I counted 32 bites on my right hand!!! That’s the only place I got bit, but from about 2 inches below my wrist to the tips of each finger there were 32 bites. My hand was swollen for 3 days. The swelling has gone down and you can see my hand once again. However, there are these nasty little bumps everywhere that itch like crazy. I'm not supposed to itch them, so I stick them in hot water and swish it around really fast. It feels so much better. Sis Higby, the mission nurse, says to add a tablespoon of salt to the water when I do it. This week should be better. We are going to visit some less actives and Rachel. She moved and no longer lives way out in the middle of nowhere. I love you all and I'm praying for you too. Love Elder Call
Sounds like your week was amazing. Besides the little bump at the end. It’s so cool to hear Megan go so far in Tennis. Now she has all year to be better!! Maryanne McFarland isn't someone I know, but I know her older sister. Lauren McFarland plays tennis for FSU. She used to be in the singles ward until she got married. Now it’s Lauren McCreeless. Her and her husband, Ashby, gave Elder Perkins and me a ride home the other day. We got talking on the subject of tennis and she told me her little sister is playing for Weber. I told her my little sister is playing for Lone Peak. She got so excited and texted me the results on Sunday. ;) I knew about Megan making it all the way to the Finals.
So this week was rough. We didn't accomplish our goals at all. We tried to meet with Hilary and Heath twice this week, but we could only meet with them once each. We have been trying to increase our teaching pool, but it hasn't been very successful. We finally got a media referral, where we take them a DVD that they ordered. We have tried to meet this lady 3 times but every time she is not there. It’s really out of the way and with bikes it makes it hard. TCC is good, but it feels like we're just roaming around rather than being there to teach. That may be because we didn't teach a lot this week.
Instead we did some service at a members home. We went back out to the ranch to help Lexa's dad move Rollerbales from the field into his barn. It was an easy start, because the bales were fresh and easy to roll. We moved the first one in no sweat. We went back out to the field to begin moving the second one. After about the third push is when everything started going downhill. Apparently we ran over a mound of fire ants without realizing it. We continued pushing and my hand went right to where they all were. They slowly crawled on my hand without me noticing. Then, all at once they attacked!! Oh! It hurt so bad. I counted 32 bites on my right hand!!! That’s the only place I got bit, but from about 2 inches below my wrist to the tips of each finger there were 32 bites. My hand was swollen for 3 days. The swelling has gone down and you can see my hand once again. However, there are these nasty little bumps everywhere that itch like crazy. I'm not supposed to itch them, so I stick them in hot water and swish it around really fast. It feels so much better. Sis Higby, the mission nurse, says to add a tablespoon of salt to the water when I do it. This week should be better. We are going to visit some less actives and Rachel. She moved and no longer lives way out in the middle of nowhere. I love you all and I'm praying for you too. Love Elder Call
Conference - October 2009
Sounds like your week was a lot more interesting than mine, but we'll see. That’s awesome that Megan is still kickin' it in Tennis. Sounds like she is having fun. I will definitely want to see her play when she is a Junior. As for Shannon, I will be back right in time for her to end Jr. High and maybe even dance for the High School.
Conference was amazing. I too enjoyed Elder Holland's talk along with Elder Oaks' and Elder Bednar's. 'He's breathing my air!' Haha, my favorite. Sunday was really special for Elder Perkins and me. On Friday morning we got a call from President. He had been talking with the sisters in our ward about dresses for Hilary. She has been coming to church with pants and a BIG sweatshirt. The other day she asked us about what to wear during church and that she would like to participate. The sisters jumped all over it and called sister Summerhays. Apparently she had some left over dresses and skirts from sisters who had left them in the mission. Not all of them were nice, but some of them were. President wanted to create a setting where Sister Summerhays could offer the dresses to Hilary so she wouldn't feel awkward. His suggestion was to have the sisters, a few members in the ward and us over to her house for a Sunday brunch and to watch conference.
We were picked up by president Sunday morning at 10 to go get ready. (conference didn't start until noon. The priesthood session went until ten!!) We set up the TV and the sisters prepared the lunch. Hilary, Carly and Krissey came over around 11 and we had a nice little meal. After President talked to us about conference and read the last couple of verses from Doctrine and Covenants section 1. We watched the Sunday morning session on couches in the mission home. It felt just like home, except I wasn't allowed to fall asleep. After we talked about what we all felt and the inspirations we had during the session. We ate lunch and got ready for the second session. After we talked a little bit more and then President excused us all and it was time to go home.
It was so cool to be in a Home setting for conference. Not only did a get a lot out of it, being in Presidents presence made it even better. When I'm around him it’s like the Heavens open and personal revelation flows in. I can feel the spirit on my own, but its different with President. It’s like Horse tail falls is the amount of revelation flowing in by myself and the Mississippi river is the amount of water flowing into me when I'm around President. Its sometimes overwhelming. I do get drained sometimes. Kind of like how Joseph Smith was drained every time he saw a Heavenly messenger. President is a Heavenly messenger and I can feel the spirit that comes from being around him.
This week should be a good one. We are still working with Heath and helping him prepare for Oct 24. Hilary is getting oh so close. She has a desire to be baptized and is going to talk with her father soon. We haven't set any date yet, but she is doing great. I don't remember who my lego guys are back home. But I choose Tracy McGrady. He was good back when the legos came out. ;)I love you all and pray for you. I hope your conference was as amazing as mine. Love Elder Call
Conference was amazing. I too enjoyed Elder Holland's talk along with Elder Oaks' and Elder Bednar's. 'He's breathing my air!' Haha, my favorite. Sunday was really special for Elder Perkins and me. On Friday morning we got a call from President. He had been talking with the sisters in our ward about dresses for Hilary. She has been coming to church with pants and a BIG sweatshirt. The other day she asked us about what to wear during church and that she would like to participate. The sisters jumped all over it and called sister Summerhays. Apparently she had some left over dresses and skirts from sisters who had left them in the mission. Not all of them were nice, but some of them were. President wanted to create a setting where Sister Summerhays could offer the dresses to Hilary so she wouldn't feel awkward. His suggestion was to have the sisters, a few members in the ward and us over to her house for a Sunday brunch and to watch conference.
We were picked up by president Sunday morning at 10 to go get ready. (conference didn't start until noon. The priesthood session went until ten!!) We set up the TV and the sisters prepared the lunch. Hilary, Carly and Krissey came over around 11 and we had a nice little meal. After President talked to us about conference and read the last couple of verses from Doctrine and Covenants section 1. We watched the Sunday morning session on couches in the mission home. It felt just like home, except I wasn't allowed to fall asleep. After we talked about what we all felt and the inspirations we had during the session. We ate lunch and got ready for the second session. After we talked a little bit more and then President excused us all and it was time to go home.
It was so cool to be in a Home setting for conference. Not only did a get a lot out of it, being in Presidents presence made it even better. When I'm around him it’s like the Heavens open and personal revelation flows in. I can feel the spirit on my own, but its different with President. It’s like Horse tail falls is the amount of revelation flowing in by myself and the Mississippi river is the amount of water flowing into me when I'm around President. Its sometimes overwhelming. I do get drained sometimes. Kind of like how Joseph Smith was drained every time he saw a Heavenly messenger. President is a Heavenly messenger and I can feel the spirit that comes from being around him.
This week should be a good one. We are still working with Heath and helping him prepare for Oct 24. Hilary is getting oh so close. She has a desire to be baptized and is going to talk with her father soon. We haven't set any date yet, but she is doing great. I don't remember who my lego guys are back home. But I choose Tracy McGrady. He was good back when the legos came out. ;)I love you all and pray for you. I hope your conference was as amazing as mine. Love Elder Call
Monday, October 5, 2009
Photos - Alan gets baptized! Elder Call Confirmed
Our district with Heath
Elder Call and Elder Faalogo
Hanging out on P-day
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